Word: oceanic
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...months now a splotch of tropical warmth has been spreading across the Pacific Ocean, from the international dateline to the South American coast. With understandable concern, climatologists have been tracking its progress, for it signifies that El Nino--that mischievous gremlin of the atmosphere and oceans--is once again gathering strength, preparing to unleash meteorological havoc in the months to come. The tropical storms spawning off Mexico, the heavy downpours that have drenched Chile and Peru, the worrisome lack of rain in Australia and Indonesia--all, say scientists, are signs that a powerful El Nino has grabbed control...
Already there is reason to think that the El Nino brewing in the Pacific may dwarf just about any other seen in this century. The swath of equatorial ocean over which it holds sway extends some 6,000 miles, a quarter of the globe's circumference. Temperatures at the sea's surface have been rising so rapidly that they seem likely to equal those of the notorious El Nino of 1982-83, which left 2,000 people dead and $13 billion in economic losses. "That was the biggest El Nino we know of," says climate modeler Stephen Zebiak of Columbia...
...Nino generally peaks around December, which is why Peruvian fishermen long ago gave the Christmastime weather visitor a name that in Spanish means "Christ Child." If the warming trend continues, scientists say, the incipient El Nino could pump so much heat into the ocean that average sea-surface temperatures might rise 3.5[degrees]C, or 7[degrees]F--and if this happens, the effects would be felt far into the new year. Among the disasters that would be likely to result are landslides, flash floods, droughts and crop failures. Ecuadorian cocoa producers estimate that the current El Nino could lower...
...most imminent peril are the giant predators of the oceans--sharks, of course, but also marlin, sailfish, swordfish and bluefin tuna, the magnificent swimming machines that have earned the nickname "Porsches of the sea." In the western Atlantic, the breeding population of northern bluefin, the largest tuna species, is thought to consist of perhaps 40,000 adults, down from some 250,000 two decades ago. Reason: the flourishing airfreight industry that allows fish brokers to deliver Atlantic Ocean bluefin overnight to Tokyo's sashimi market, where a single fish can fetch $80,000 or more at auction. "To a fisherman...
...Patagonian toothfish has become a popular substitute for sablefish in Japan. But environmental groups are concerned about the long-term viability of the fisheries that are serving up these quaintly named piscine treats. This year, for example, ships from around the world have converged on the Southern Ocean, where the toothfish makes its home. "At this rate," predicts Beth Clark, a scientist with the Antarctica Project, "the entire fishery will be gone in 18 months...